In 1864 a woman was admitted to the Toronto asylum and diagnosed
as suffering from 'mania, ' a not uncommon diagnosis for women, a
step beyond 'hysteria.' The cause cited by doctors for the
patient's insanity was lactation.
This was one of the scores of cases cited by Wendy Mitchinson in
her history of the medical treatment of women in Victorian Canada.
The cases, combined with the medical literature of the period,
reflect the society's preoccupations, both among the general
population and the medical profession. Above all, they illustrate
in sharp detail the society's perception of women.
For most medical practitioners, the male body was taken to be
the norm; women were 'other.' Doctors were uncomfortable with some
of the central physiological experiences of women, such as
menstruation and menopause. They often felt that healthy bodies
should not undergo such stresses.
From this attitude it was a short leap to viewing the normal
functions of women's bodies as illnesses to be treated by
specialists. One of the most significant medical developments of
this period was the rise of gynaecology and medical obstetrics as
major medical specialties. Practitioners used surgical gynaecology
to alleviate disorders - mental as well as physical - in women.
In documenting the changing nature of interventional medicine,
Mitchinson considers the medical treatment of women within the
context of what was available to physicians at the time. She also
explores the kind of pressure that women themselves brought to
bear. Faced with a medical profession that viewed them as creatures
of weakness, women used their strength and stamina to change
attitudes and treatments.
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